Download
1 / 14
140 likes | 226 Views
Answering Board-style Questions. Tips for maximizing your performance on Step 1. How do they comprise a test that is written for you to fail?. A physician sits and writes a question based upon the discipline they want to assess A psychologist rewords the question the way your mind thinks..
E N D
Answering Board-style Questions Tips for maximizing your performance on Step 1
How do they comprise a test that is written for you to fail? • A physician sits and writes a question based upon the discipline they want to assess • A psychologist rewords the question the way your mind thinks.. • This is why the wrong answers always look good
5 Rules to answering questions 1. Cover the Answers 2. Read the last sentence and decide if it is a clue or concept question • Clue words = which, cause, and diagnosis 3. Read the vignette, and isolate the facts of the vignette 4. Comprise a thought process 5. Look down, find your answer, click and move!
Example 1: A 38 y/o woman has congestive heart failure, premature ventricular contractions and repeated episodes of ventricular tachycardia. Her blood pressure is normal and there are no murmurs. Her heart is markedly enlarged. Coronary angiography shows no abnormalities. Which is of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
Read the last sentence: A 38 y/o woman has congestive heart failure, premature ventricular contractions and repeated episodes of ventricular tachycardia. Her blood pressure is normal and there are no murmurs. Her heart is markedly enlarged. Coronary angiography shows no abnormalities. Which is of the following is the most likely diagnosis? (clue)
Isolate the facts: A 38 y/o woman has congestive heart failure, premature ventricular contractions and repeated episodes of ventricular tachycardia. Her blood pressure is normal and there are no murmurs. Her heart is markedly enlarged. Coronary angiography shows no abnormalities. Which is of the following is the most likely diagnosis?
Organizing your thoughts: Keeping time in consideration, come up with a reasonable answer BEFORE looking at the answer choices. Now you’re ready to look at the options…
Scan to find your answer: • Acute Rheumatic Fever • Congenital fibroelastosis • Constrictive pericarditis • Myocardial infarction • Primary cardiomyopathy
Summary: 1. Cover the Answers 2. Read the last sentence and decide if it is a clue or concept question • Clue words = which, cause, and diagnosis 3. Read the vignette, and isolate the facts of the vignette 4. Comprise a thought process 5. Look down, find your answer, click and move!
Practice this method while going through questions in your Qbank.
Using your QBank • Organ system based • Omit biochem, genetics, behavioral and statistics initially • Biochem and genetics should be done by themselves • Behavioral and statistics should be set aside until the week of the test (repeat as many times as necessary to comprehend) • Blocks of 48 questions • Start out with 1/day, build up to blocks of 4 the week before the test (endurance!) • Untimed initially (NOT tutor mode) • Look at missed questions as a way to find holes in your knowledge • patterns in what you miss can help guide your studies
NBME practice examshttp://www.NBME.org • 7 forms total • Once you have completed 50% of your QBank • Begin with Form 1 or 2 • Do not take form 3 • Save form 4 until the end (it has shown the best correlation with Step 1) • Form 6 is available with expanded performance feedback
